The Happiest Song Plays Last

Written by Quiara Alegría Hudes
Directed by Jennifer Onopa

Rand Theater

Wednesday, April 5, 2017, Half-Price Preview at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 7, 2017, Opening Night at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 8, 2017, Performance at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, April 12, 2017, Performance at 7:30 pm
Thursday, April 13, 2017, Performance at 7:30 pm
Friday, April 14, 2017, Performance at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 15, 2017, Performance at 2 pm
Saturday, April 15, 2017, Performance at 7:30 pm

There’s power in traditions, in the songs sung and the food served at gatherings and the way they can bind families and communities together across time and distance. Iraq war veteran Elliott is in Jordan to film a war movie and finds himself connecting with his costar Shar, against the backdrop of the Arab Spring. When he calls home, he speaks to his cousin Yaz, a music professor, who has opened her new home in Philadelphia to feed neighbors in need and struggles against a system that neglects the poor and the sick. Hudes’s play is a complex mixture, balancing epic historical events with intimate life moments, all of them connected through the wonders of modern technology and the richness of Puerto Rican cuatro music.

Director: Jennifer Onopa
Dramaturg: Gaven D. Trinidad
Fight Choreographer: Glenn Proud
Scenic Designer: Kris Stone
Costume Designer: Christina Beam
Lighting Designer: Tamara Harris
Sound Designers: Alyssa Labrie and Brendan Lynch
Stage Manager: Michael Smith
Assistant Director: Lily Filippatos
Assistant Dramaturgs: Jerry Ng and Irisdelia Garcia
Assistant Costume Designer: Hayley Blackmer 
Assistant Stage Managers: Crystal Johnson and Shannon Nelson-Maney